Cypress teen Danielle Bradbery wins ‘The Voice’

During her final performance Monday on “The Voice,” Danielle Bradbery sang that she was “born to fly.” Tuesday night, she earned her wings.

The Cypress teen was crowned the show’s season 4 winner after almost three months of competition. At 16 years old, she’s the youngest person to take the title and the only one without a previous record deal.

“I came from singing in my room to being in the top three, and it’s crazy,” Bradbery said. “I told my high school (Cy-Ranch) I’d come back home with the win for them.”

Bradbery was “speechless” after the results were announced and couldn’t even get through her coronation song.

Watch parties for Bradbery were held throughout the Houston area, including one at Community of Faith in Cypress. Mother Gloria Redden Martinez and stepfather Mark Martinez were in the Los Angeles audience Tuesday night to cheer on their daughter.

“As a father, not only do I feel blessed that she had this opportunity but she so had the best possible coach in Blake Shelton,” says Mark Martinez. “And as a parent you pray that your children will chase their dreams. Danielle is now living her dream.”

Bradbery’s win seemed like a forgone conclusion from her first appearance on the show. Her “blind audition,” where celebrity coaches listen with their backs to the stage and turn around if they’re impressed, earned chair spins from Blake Shelton, Usher and Adam Levine. She chose Shelton, who guided her successfully through a myriad of country midtempos and ballads by Sara Evans, Pam Tillis and Carrie Underwood.

Levine repeatedly dubbed Bradbery the one to beat and called her “the winner of this thing” Tuesday night. She developed an immediate following, racking up more than 70,000 Facebook likes and more than 138,000 Twitter followers, considerably bigger numbers than competitors Michelle Chamuel and the Swon Brothers. As of Tuesday afternoon, she had eight songs in the iTunes top 100, including two in the top 10.

Bradbery’s win is also a three-peat for country star Blake Shelton, her mentor on the show. Shelton previously took the title with season 2’s Jermaine Paul and season 3’s Cassadee Pope. Angsty pop-rock singer Chamuel, who took big risks throughout the season with song choices, finished in second place. Oklahoma duo the Swon Brothers came in third. Bradbery referred to them as her “big brothers and sister.”

Each of the top three finalists were also surprised with a new car. Bradbery said it was “motivation to get my license faster.”

The finale reunited Bradbery with eliminated hopefuls Amber Carrington, Sarah Simmons and Caroline Glaser on Carrie Underwood’s “All American Girl.” She also sang a duet with one of her favorite artists, Louisiana-born singer Hunter Hayes.

There were A-list guests aplenty before Bradbery’s coronation, and none brighter than Cher, who debuted new single “Woman’s World” sporting a faux-hawk of sorts and flanked by female dancers. It was her first TV performance in more than a decade.

Original “Voice” coach Christina Aguilera kicked off the two-hour show with rapper Pitbull on dance-pop anthem “Feel This Moment.” (She and Cee Lo Green were on hiatus this season but return to their chairs in the fall.) Bruno Mars worked a disco vibe with current single “Treasure.”

Though Bradbery is the first local singer to take the “Voice” crown, others have used time on the show to their advantage. Savannah Berry, eliminated earlier this season during the knockout rounds, added new fans to her already strong online following. Season 2’s RaeLynn, who hails from Baytown , signed with Universal Republic and was featured on Shelton ’s hit “Boys ‘Round Here.” And Houston ’s Sarah Golden (also season 2) has become an in-demand touring act.

“The show exposed me to literally millions of people around the world. I have fans and followers in just about every country, which is kind of crazy to think about,” Golden says.

“You have to continue to work. The show allows undiscovered vocalists the opportunity to gain exposure on a level they would otherwise never be able to afford on their own. But it doesn’t stop there. You have to continue writing, playing out and working to maintain relevance.”

That, then, will be Bradbery’s challenge — to use the platform she’s been given and translate small-screen charm into a real-world career. Despite so much fanfare and celebrity encouragement, “The Voice” has yet to produce a viable artist who can compete on radio and charts. (Season 1’s Colon lost his deal, and we’ve yet to see an album from season 2’s Paul.) Bradbery, however, is different. She’s young, with no history and the ability to appeal to a lot of people.

“Danielle has a magical voice that soars without sounding forced. With the right songs, she can be a mega star,” says Jake McKim, who runs Amp Music Academy , an artist development program in Houston . McKim worked closely with Mathew Knowles on projects for Destiny’s Child, Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland. He also manages Shane Stevens, who has written songs for Lady Antebellum, Sara Evans and Carrie Underwood; and new country duo Sweet Aliana.

“The difference between a star and a flop is a hit radio single. If she can write it, or identify and record it, and then follow it up with others, she can be a long-term success. She will have to determine what makes her unique as an artist and develop her brand.”

I am happy for her win. I was hoping for Michelle Shamuel would have been the winner of the Voice competition. I can’t understand why Team Blake has won at least 3 times. I hope our surrounding cities of Houston will support all competitors as they did Danielle from Cypress. There have been others on American Idol who didn’t get the support Danielle received. We have Leah on the show “and the winner is” from Kingwood, as well as the other lady from Conroe.

Anita = loser. The reason that Blake has won three years in a row is that, besides being incredibly talented, he has an ear for talent and knows how to nurture them and make them gain the confidence necessary to be successful. He rocks and Danielle is one hellava talented little lady – rigged or not. lol

Neither have we, however, several of the folks in our office have voted this time for the first time – mostly for the Swon Brothers. We think that this season of The Voice was the absolute best. We hope that all the folks featured last night from Season 4 make a name for themselves. What a wonderful group of talented singers we got to hear this year. We refuse to pay to vote. If the show starts to advertise how much the singers are receiving from the additional income generated from the votes, we might consider voting. Hope the Swon Brothers get their own variety show and feature some of the favorites from Voice and Idol. Their is a huge gap in programming these days for fun shows that give new talent the chance at the spotlight.

Very happy to see Bradbery win it all. I sincerely hope the right people are by her side to keep the winning ongoing after the Voice.I pray Justin Bieber,stays far away from,Bradbery and she never mets or encounters him. I suspect Bradbery will be spending time in Nashville,TN studios,cutting records.It is refreshing to see a teen well mannered,a very thankful young lady with a promising future ahead her gain so much in such a short period of time. Bradbery A good job done well. Best of luck to you in the weeks,months,years ahead of you.Keep on keeping on.

It’s rigged? Why do you say that? Let me guess…you bought into the “I represent all the average” Michelle “Sham Wow” Chamuel hype. Now THAT was rigged. Danielle was what the Voice should be about: amateur with pure tone and solid delivery, no screeching, no Pocahontas Giving Birth moves during song delivery…just a perfect Voice.

If you use a DVR, don’t read the Chron. The Chron likes to spoil sports scores and reality tv by putting the results on the first page headlines rather than warning you the article contains the winners name. Thanks, Chron.

Congratulations to her! I do fear however that she not wind up like so many teen stars. They begin so sweet and innocent and end up tabloid trash within 10 years. Hollywood is not a friendly place to young people and their values.

Whereas I am a huge fan of Michelle, what bothers me most about this show is it should be called “The Voice Country” since the past three winners are country singers…not everyone is into country music. I think she is going to turn into a LeAnna Rimes. She may have a nice singing voice but I don’t think she has the maturity yet for the journey that she is entering upon and I find that a little sad. After this win,I am not watching it anymore, I found it disappointing, but dang did Cher look awesome or what.

Pope was not a country singer on the show. I know she just signed with a country label, but on the show(great Miranda Lambert song not withstanding) and her history before the show she was a rocker. Jermaine Paul country? LOL This is the first country singer Blake has won with. Now, clearly country fans vote on these kind of shows. How else do you explain that country dude winning X-factor? There were at least 4 country singers on the Voice better than that guy. What I worry about with the Voice is has Blake’s popularity gotten too big? How many people are going to vote for Blake’s team regardless of who is best? Personally, I think the right person won, but it bares thinking about.

Where do you get the idea that the past three winners are country? She is the FIRST country winner. Season 1 was Javier Colon, a pop singer. Season 2 was Jermaine Paul, a pop singer. Season 3 was Cassadee Pope, a girl from an alt rock band that toured with Fallout Boy.

Great job, Danielle!!! I did not watch the show, but it’s always great for Houston to be in the spotlight again regarding its talent. The talent here is unlimitless. It does not matter that she lives in Cypress; she represents Houston as a whole. Danielle, may GOD continue to bless you and guide your footsteps!!!!

RE: “perfectly boring voice” — again, the context is that this was “rigged.” And so please tell me who had a better voice? Sham Wow? Not even close. The Schwanz brothers? Good but not great. Perhaps you are are still upset that the “colorful” voices representing the typical church choir were eliminated.

Danielle is 16. So to say her voice is “perfectly boring” is just mean spirited . The others had been singing for years, some professionally. This TEENAGER had the better voice overall, and I’ll bet she will develop into the ability to throw in that guttural yippity yap that you apparently crave.

Hope all these featured artists do well in the years to come. This year was an exceptionally good year for talent on The Voice. I’ll miss Usher. Got such a kick out of having him on the show. Hope he agrees to more television shows and performances in the near future. We can’t get enough of Usher. Truth be told, any of the featured artists pictured above are better than the winners of the last three seasons. What ever happened to them and why haven’t they been featured at all anywhere?

Danielle has an amazing voice and is a very talented young lady. Her family is very supportive of her dreams and will continue to be by her side. She comes from a great christian family and that will keep her on the right path. For someone who has never had vocal training to go into this competition and win it, purely shows it is about the voice. She is a beautiful young lady with a very bright future, she will represent Houston well!

She doesn’t go to Cy-Ranch. She went there in 9th grade and didn’t start her sophomore year at Ranch. Happy for a Cypress girl to win, but she shouldn’t lie about her school. Maybe that’s why they didn’t show more than 2 seconds of the pep rally. She has a great voice, but what makes her unique? Hope she doesn’t get lost in the long line of female country singers with nothing to make her stand out from the rest. Michelle was good, but unfortunately looks matter to America even when the show is called The VOICE. Michelle needed a makeover in order to win.

This made me throw up in my mouth a little. None brighter? Really? A techno loop with a repeated electronically enhanced chant of “It’s woman’s world”?? Is THIS is as bright as it gets to YOU? You should broaden your musical horizons.

I was fine with the result last night, but to those saying Michelle Chamuel did not have a good voice – stop watching singing competitions. they are not your strong suit. I still don’t quite understand how the Swon Bros get into the final over Sasha Allen, it would have been fun to see what I thought were the three strongest singers left go at it in the finale. Alas, congrats to Danielle. She is already set up in Nashville.

As to the voting issue – it helps that Blake really knows how to mobilize his Twitter followers and they are rabidly loyal to him. It’s a brilliant move.

I think the right person won. Looks have nothing to do with it. Danielle had the best voice. I thought Sasha Allen should have been in the top three. I’m sure Michelle Chamuel is a sweet person but her voice sounds mediocre at best with no range. Very seldom did you see her sing without backup or duet vocals blending in.